114,400 turkeys hit in new Iowa avian influenza cases

Avian influenza detections continue in Sac County; Calhoun County has first confirmed case

An estimated 114,400
turkeys have been affected in two new cases of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian
influenza, confirmed on May 22 by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS). Both cases occurred in commercial flocks in Iowa.

One case was confirmed in
Calhoun County, Iowa, the first for that county. There, a flock of 14,400
turkeys was confirmed to have contracted the virus. The second case occurred in
Sac County, Iowa, involving a flock of 100,000 turkeys. That was the sixth H5N2
avian influenza detection in that county, according to APHIS.

With the two newest avian
influenza detections, APHIS has now confirmed 179 cases in the United States in
2015, involving more than 40.7 million birds. Avian influenza has been found in
20 states, as well as in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and
Ontario.

The
affected premises have been quarantined and birds on the property will be
depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flocks will not
enter the food system.